Butterflies are one of the species in nature that lay a HUGE number of eggs, because, like most insects, the parents do not stick around to care for their young.
Any butterfly egg laid in nature stands a 90% chance of dying before reaching full maturity as a butterfly. This would be due to a number of factors that you can learn about here: It’s Rough Out There…
By collecting these eggs and raising them in a safer environment, we can increase the likelihood that an egg will survive all of the life cycle stages and become an adult.
When you have become an expert on the reasons that butterfly eggs don’t always make it through all of the stages of their life cycle, list five reasons on your Station Record that caterpillars and butterflies can die. This is Station #6.
Curious to Learn More?
NPV – Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus
OE – Ophryocystitis elektroscirrha – Monarch Butterfly